Soft washing is one of the safest and most effective methods used to clean your home’s exterior surfaces. However, not all homeowners and business owners are familiar with this cleaning method.
In this post we’ll be explaining what soft wash is, including the main differences between soft washing and pressure washing. We will go over examples of how and when to use soft washing and provide best practices we use at 4Pro Power Washing to get expert results every time.
So What is Soft Washing Anyway
Soft washing is a cleaning method that uses low pressure and highly specialized detergents. It safely and effectively removes mildew, algae and other organic stains and vegetation from exterior buildings and roofs. The typical water pressure used for soft washing is under 500 PSI.
The combination of solutions and detergents that are used for soft washing services are unique and specifically designed for each situation. For instance, the detergents used for ridding vinyl siding of common dirt will be different from solutions used for green/blue algae on a roof.
Since soft washing uses lower pressure combined with specialized solutions, it allows for a safer and more efficient method to clean homes, roofs and buildings without causing damage to any of the surfaces.
What’s the difference between pressure washing & soft washing
The biggest difference between pressure washing and soft washing is in the pressure used. Pressure washing can easily get up over 3000 PSI which is great for cleaning concrete, but can easily destroy your asphalt shingles or vinyl siding.
What surfaces should be soft washed vs pressure washed
We have found that surfaces that could easily damage with high pressure are best washed with the soft wash technique. These include:
- Wooden decks
- Asphalt roofs
- Stucco
- Ceramic
- Drywall
- Wood fencing
- Most Vinyl Siding
- Cedar shakes
- Many Paver, Bricks and Tiles
Using high pressure on these surfaces raises the risk of considerable damage, including lowering the integrity of the surfaces which could lead to faster breakdown of the material. Also, getting water up behind siding and into soffits could affect your insulation or even leak into your attic.
Hiring A Pro vs doing it yourself
Many homeowners may rent a power washer with the hopes of blasting the stubborn algae and stains off their roof or siding.
Of course they have the best intentions, and you might have even tried it yourself.
Unfortunately, most folks end up spending more money fixing damage caused by the high pressure, than getting the results they wanted.
And to make matters worse, the dirt and algae seemingly comes back within a few weeks. This is usually because either no solutions were used or they were mixed incorrectly.
That’s where the professionals come in.
The team members of 4Pro Power Washing are all trained and educated on the best practices for mixing chemicals, detergents and using the proper pressure for every cleaning situation.
And if we don’t think we can clean it, we’ll tell you.
Wrapping it up
What we learned is that soft washing is a technique of power washing that uses less pressure and a highly specific mixture of detergents and other chemicals. Using this process is immensely important when it comes to the most efficient way to clean and protect your Massachusetts, New Hampshire or Maine property.
For a free no obligation quote for soft washing or pressure washing, head on over to our contact page or give Dan a call at 978-835-2697 or Tom at 978-914-2802.
